| rdfs:comment
| - The show opens with a young man, Kevin (perhaps in his mid-twenties) reveling about the birth of his newborn son, Ryan ("Opening: Don't Be Afraid") He vows that nothing will ever happen to him as long as he is there to watch over him, and fantasizes about all the fun and joy he will feel while raising his son. ("My Boy") Kevin has been gone longer than usual, and Ryan is left convinced that he is the reason his father hasn't returned ("My Father's Eyes"). He calls his father, and Vikki answers the phone. Ryan hangs up before even asking who it is, and pieces together the puzzle.
|
| abstract
| - The show opens with a young man, Kevin (perhaps in his mid-twenties) reveling about the birth of his newborn son, Ryan ("Opening: Don't Be Afraid") He vows that nothing will ever happen to him as long as he is there to watch over him, and fantasizes about all the fun and joy he will feel while raising his son. ("My Boy") Four years later, Kevin is well into the world of being a father, and has discovered how difficult raising a four-year-old can be ("I Want To...") We meet Ryan for the first time, as he blurts out ridiculous facts about his father and how amazing he is for always being around when he wants to play. Ryan is now seven years old, and has his first issue with a bully at school ("Tough'n'Rough") His father overhears him, and takes him to their favorite spot where the two of them would often sit together: a pier by a nearby lake. He tries to give him advice for dealing with people who are bigger than him that try to hurt him. ("Ripples On the Water") Ryan leaves to go to bed, and Kevin is left thinking about raising a son in a changing world where violence and hate become more and more prevalent ("Living In This World"). Ryan's fourteenth birthday becomes a disaster when his father is suddenly not in attendance. Ryan is crushed that his dad seems to have forgotten the most important day of the year for the two of them ("One Day a Year"). He tells his mother (who we never meet), Laura, how hurt he is over his father's forgetfulness. Kevin has begun to be more and more distant towards his son for an unknown reason. Ryan is ending his junior year in high school, and has become more of his own person than ever before. He begins to wonder why his father is absent so often, and realizes that he must be keeping something from him; something that has never been the case between the two of them. Realizing this, Ryan also admits that he's keeping a secret from his father as well. The two reflect on how much they'd like to tell each other what their secret is, but can't get the guts to do so ("Finale Act I: Keep It Inside"). We last see Ryan going to bed, wondering where his father is, as Kevin is seen embracing a woman we have not met yet. Three months later, Ryan is about to start his senior year. He wonders what this year may bring that the past few years have lacked ("Cross Your Fingers"). Meanwhile, we are introduced to Victoria Safford (vikki), a beautiful woman of 23 that Kevin is having an affair with, as she is trying to swoon Kevin into staying with her for another night ("See You In the Morning"). Kevin gets a phone call from his son, and the two converse for the first time in weeks. Ryan tells his father he wants him to come home so that he can tell him something important. Kevin promises that he'll be home before the week is over. The next day, Ryan is trying to figure out how to tell his father that he is gay. He has already told his mother, but he is worried about his father's reaction ("Much Better") Meanwhile, Vikki pleads with Kevin to take her home with him and divorce his wife so that they can be happy together ("Perfect"). He refuses, and explains to her why he can't do that to his son ("My Boy (reprise I)"). Kevin returns home and he and his son go to the pier they used to share so much time at together. Ryan brings up old memories to try and make his father remember how close they were. He then eases into telling his father his secret by trying to make him realize that nothing is different about him because he's gay ("Remember When/It's All The Same"). Upon hearing this news Kevin is speechless. He leaves without saying more than a few words, but is stopped when Ryan reminds him of the advice he gave him as a child ("Ripples On the Water (reprise)") Kevin stands still for a moment, looking away from his son, then leaves Ryan on the pier alone. Kevin has been gone longer than usual, and Ryan is left convinced that he is the reason his father hasn't returned ("My Father's Eyes"). He calls his father, and Vikki answers the phone. Ryan hangs up before even asking who it is, and pieces together the puzzle. Kevin comes home for Ryan's graduation, and the two share an awkward greeting. Ryan asks his father who the woman was who answered the phone, but soon becomes enraged and yells at his father for leaving him because of what he shared with him, and yet, refusing to share something as life-altering as an affair ("Blame Me"). Kevin is once again left almost speechless. He begins to calmly explain to Ryan what happened, but suddenly erupts into an explanation of what he's done. Ryan leaves, in tears, remembering the father he once had and now seeing the man his idol has become. A week later, Kevin is holding Ryan's cap and tassel from graduation. He is going through old things that he kept through the years form his son's birth up through graduation. While looking through he lays the cap and tassel on top, holding back tears, recounting the day he found Ryan in his room after committing suicide ("Thrown Away"). He comes across a letter Ryan had written at a young age in school about his father and begins to read it, as the voice of Ryan as a child begins to go through the letter word by word ("Finale Act II: That's What I Want To Do"). He closes the box, placing the letter inside with the other items, finally realizing what he has lost ("My Boy (reprise II)").
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)